Olivia Rockwell comes to the residency program as a graduate of the West Virginia University School of Pharmacy in Morgantown, while Minh Trinh comes as a graduate of the Western University of Health Sciences College of Pharmacy in Pomona, California.

The Valley Health pharmacy residency is a 12-month, post-graduate, community-based program that is accredited by the American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP). Residents rotate among Valley Health’s pharmacy sites and other health center sites as needed. Residents also conduct a yearlong research project during training that they will present to the Eastern States Conference at the conclusion of the residency.

The pharmacy residency program meets specific goals and objectives of the accrediting body to give residents practical experience in serving patients, managing diseases, analyzing data, evaluating medication use processes and implementing best practices. Upon completion of the ASHP accredited program, individuals are awarded a residency certificate.

Through the duration of their residencies, Rockwell and Trinh will interact with Valley Health’s pharmacy team. Valley Health currently operates three community pharmacies from the system’s East Huntington, Huntington and Wayne health centers. In addition to operating traditional pharmacies, Valley Health is unique in that it also operates a clinical pharmacy program. The system’s clinical pharmacists work in direct collaboration with the primary provider and treatment team as resources to answer medication questions and optimize medication management processes for patients.

Residents will be further exposed to Valley Health’s innovative, customer-focused pharmacy programs. Those programs include a Competitive Pricing Program to offer prescription medications at the lowest possible prices; a Medication Therapy Management Program (MTM) to help patients better manage their medications; a Transitional Care Management Program (TCM) to monitor and help patients in the transition from hospital to home; a Med-Synch Program to coordinate prescription refills so patients can pick up all their prescriptions at one time; and a Diabetes Education Program to optimize patients’ medication plans. Residents will also gain experience in Targeted Drug Monitoring with lithium and digoxin. Targeted Drug Monitoring is a clinical practice of measuring specific drugs at designated intervals to maintain a constant concentration in a patient’s bloodstream, thereby optimizing individual dosage regimens.

In addition to the pharmacy residency program, Valley Health administers residency programs for family medicine, behavioral health, and most recently, dentistry. Residency programs provide healthcare professionals with opportunities to build and improve their skills while serving patients and sharing knowledge with Valley Health personnel. Residencies also present opportunities for Valley Health to hire young, skilled professionals when they finish their programs.